DOWN AND OUT: Chris Neil of the Senators (left) reacts after scoring the game-winning goal in overtime vs. the Rangers in Game 2. Photo: Getty Images

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Reasonable people surely will agree the Rangers were damaged by an unfathomable decision by the refereeing tandem of Stephen Walkom and Ian Walsh to give Brandon Dubinsky a game misconduct 2:15 into last night’s Game 2 for coming to the rescue of teammate Brian Boyle, who was being pummeled with punches by Ottawa’s Matt Carkner while defenseless and flat on his back.

But that doesn’t provide cover for the Rangers’ inability to demonstrate any measurable superiority over the eighth-seed Senators in the first two games of an Eastern Conference quarterfinal series that turned mean on Broadway last night in Ottawa’s 3-2 victory on Chris Neil’s goal at 1:17 of overtime following Thursday’s 4-2 Rangers success in a polite Game 1.

Thus, the home-ice advantage the Rangers had gained over six months and 82 games of work has disappeared already with Games 3 and 4 set for tomorrow and Wednesday night in Canada’s capital.

“I thought we played well for a while but absolutely we needed to be more aggressive when we got the lead,” said Boyle, who had put the Rangers up 2-1 at 2:41 of the third before his team then spent most of the remainder of the match scrambling in its own end. “You know that it’s never going to be easy in the playoffs, and it hasn’t been, but we’re certainly not going to get discouraged over this.

“As far as the [winning] goal, I’m mad at myself because I had a chance to win the draw but I missed it and got running around, so I take responsibility for it.”

Neil scored the winner by collecting the puck at the left porch to beat Henrik Lundqvist, who had lost his stick in a scramble after Ryan McDonagh blocked Jared Cowen’s point drive and has lost six straight playoff OT matches dating back to 2007.

It felt like a 12-round bout at Madison Square Garden during which confrontations and scrums developed after essentially every whistle and two players were cited for elbows to the head, though only the Rangers’ Carl Hagelin received a 5-minute major for his blow against Daniel Alfredsson at 10:32 of the third, while Ottawa’s Chris Phillips received a minor for nailing Ryan Callahan at 19:07 of the first.

Hagelin will have a hearing with VP of player safety Brendan Shanahan at 1:30 this afternoon. There will be no action regarding Phillips.

The Senators set the tone by dressing the truculent Carkner and Zenon Konopka in place of the more gentlemanly Kaspars Daugavins and Matt Carkner, but it actually was Boyle who set off the chain of events that led to the attack by Carkner — and another fight in the period with Neil — by jabbing Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson in the face on his first shift a number of times with his gloved hand.

Boyle refused to talk about the first period, and though John Tortorella similarly declined to offer his take on the incident or the officiating, the Rangers’ coach said “Yes” when asked if he were pleased with Dubinsky’s decision.

A game misconduct for third-man-in is not mandatory. According to Rule 46.16, it may be applied, “at the discretion of the referee.”

Even absent an important player, the Rangers did have a 2-1 lead in the third after a second-period goal by Karlsson — who had 10 shots and an astounding 21 attempts — that bounced in off Michael Del Zotto negated a first period Anton Stralman power play score.

But the Rangers not only couldn’t get the third goal, they couldn’t advance the puck. The Senators had 27 attempts on goal to the Rangers’ 13 in the third — and a 74-49 edge overall — that fairly summarized possession time.

“We knew they would do something to change up, so [the physical approach] wasn’t a surprise,” said Rangers center Brad Richards. “I’m sure it’s going to get worse.”

Starting tomorrow, the Rangers had better be better.

Power plays: 3 Stars

1. Chris Neil – The Senators’ tough guy was an assist away from a Gordie Howe hat trick, getting into a fight in the first period and then scoring the game-winner in OT.

2. Erik Karlsson – After a tough Game 1, the star defenseman had an absurd 10 shots on goal, netting one in the second to tie it 1-1.

3. Brian Boyle – The instigator of the first-period fracas, Boyle scored his second goal in two playoff games to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead in the third.

KEY MOMENT

The Rangers were up 2-1 with five minutes remaining in the third period when they pulled back a bit on their attack, the result being a game-tying goal from Nick Foligno, hacked in from in front of the crease.